Trash pickers keep park pristine

HILLSDALE — Trash along roads and walks can spur people into civic action.

Baw Beese Lake has it’s own form of eco-warriors who devote daily morning walks to picking up trash along the park’s pathways.

Longtime friends Ed Swanson and Tim Auseon meet every morning five days a week to do their civic duty while getting some exercise in the process.

Armed with broom handles outfitted with a single large nail on the ends, the men set out to insure that one of Hillsdale’s gems stays pristine.

“It’s the satisfaction in knowing that a wonderful piece of Hillsdale is cared for,” Swanson said.

Swanson is a retired Omera Sumnar Insurance agent who worked at the agency for more than 30 years. Auseon, his college fraternity brother, golf partner and general “partner in crime,” not only attended Hillsdale College with Swanson, they both belonged to many of the same organizations through life. And, they both share the same age as depicted in the number of trombones in the famous tune from the “Music Man:” “76 Trombones.”

Swanson is the music man for the Mrs. Stock’s Park committee as he plans musical programs that take place several Tuesday evenings in the park throughout the summer.

“Mary Anne MacRitchie asked me years ago to do it and I’ve been doing it since,” he said.

Auseon, also retired, worked in plumbing distribution for 33 years, both in Coldwater and in Hillsdale.

The men like to walk for general health while doing something good. They can spot a sack on the ground more than 30 yards away.

“It’s our form of exercise,” Auseon said. “Each morning we talk about the Detroit Tigers, golfing…there’s no holds barred when it comes to conversation.”

The area they look after varies as well. Usually they walk from the boat dock area to Sandy Beach on the bike path and go back by way of the road. Sometimes, they walk the other direction from the beach house to the point on the lake. Other times, they concentrate on the path starting behind Subway from Fayette Street to the cemetery.

“The urge carries over, too,” Auseon said, noting he becomes conscious of trash everywhere he goes. “When we’re out driving along the roads, we have the idea of jumping out to pick something up. It’s like our work is never complete.”

They find everything from plastic bottles, to cups, paper plates and even diapers.

“It’s mostly things we wouldn’t want to touch,” Swanson said. “We’ve picked up hats that have blown off boats and washed up and once even a pair of gym shoes that had been set on fire.”

They usually gather two bags each, loaded with debris.

Each morning they see “the regulars” out doing their morning routine of walking or jogging and greet them with a familiar “hello.”

“We’re thanked all the time for what we do,” Swanson said. “Most appreciate the effort…we just don’t understand why some feel the need to throw things down when there are plenty of trash barrels throughout the park. Some items are almost to the barrels as if people said to themselves “close enough.”

A group of ladies who call themselves the Curves refugees, walk the bike path each morning after the local Curves business closed and say they appreciate having someplace nice to continue their morning routines.

“Our walks are beautiful because of what they do,” local Susan Brown said on a recent morning while walking the path with three others.

City workers who mow the park are also appreciative since they can’t jump off the mowers every time a piece of trash is spotted, Swanson said.

Though he admits to feeling like he’s on the show “American Pickers,” Swanson said the items found daily are worthless, except for the dollar bill that drew a few “hollers” one day.

“We’re not a lost and found,” he said. “This just keeps a couple of old guys busy and out of trouble.”

A cup of coffee at one of Hillsdale’s restaurants is their reward each morning after their job is done, but their true reward is spending time outdoors together for a cause.